The Latest News and Events @ Cardiff & Met HC

Cardiff & Met came from behind for the second week running as
they scored two goals in four minutes to clinch a late win over Isca.

Cardiff & Met started strongly and
following a number of circle entries, the home side earnt an early penalty
corner. A well disguised drag-flick from Ieuan Davies hit the Isca defender on
the goal-line and Jack Pritchard duly converted the penalty stroke in the 6th minute
for his 4th goal of the season.

Isca responded almost immediately with
a penalty stroke of their own to make the score 1-1 and despite having large
amounts of possession, Cardiff & Met struggled to create any clear-cut
chances and the two sides headed into half-time with honours even.

The home side burst out of the traps following the interval and took the lead courtesy of a close-range
finish from Ronan Taggart, who calmly placed a flick over the shoulder of the
onrushing goalkeeper.

Despite taking a 2-1 lead, Cardiff
& Met were unable to extend it further as they squandered a number of good
opportunities. They were soon made to pay, as Alf Dinnie was adjudged to have
cynically fouled an Isca attacker and was punished with a yellow card, much to
the bemusement of the home fans.

Jon Wright equalised from the resulting
penalty corner for his 2nd goal of the match and Isca then took the lead
against the run of play seven minutes later, after Cardiff & Met failed to
clear a loose ball in their own circle.

However, this seemed to kick-start the
home side into life and after a continued spell of pressure, Isca were reduced to
nine men after yellow cards were shown to Thomas Whitworth and Jamie Cooke, the
latter somewhat harshly.

Cardiff & Met looked to take advantage and after a number of unsuccessful penalty corners, the Isca
defence was finally breached when Ieuan Davies was first to a rebound in the 66th minute
to make the score 3-3.

The home side continued to pile forward, seemingly not content with a draw, and they were rewarded for
their efforts as Ioan Wall got the final touch on another scrappy penalty
corner in the 69th minute to make it 4-3 and seal the three
points for the Welsh team.

Next up// Cardiff & Met travel to
the University of Birmingham on Saturday 11th November (5pm
PB).

Cardiff & Met secured
an important 3 points against Cheltenham on Sunday as they came from behind in
a 9-goal thriller to put them 2nd in the National League West
Conference.

After a cagey start to the match which gave little
indication of the goal-fest to come, Cardiff & Met grew into the game and
following a swift counter-attack, Charlie Hunte pounced on a loose ball in the
21th minute to slot home for his 2nd goal in as many
games.

Cheltenham then equalised from a penalty corner five minutes
later and despite Cardiff & Met having the majority of possession and
squandering a couple of half-chances, the two sides headed into half-time with
the score level at 1-1.

Cardiff & Met started the second half with far more
intensity and it reaped immediate rewards as they scored twice in two minutes
courtesy of a pair of reverse-stick strikes from Alf Dinnie and youngster Rhys
Bradshaw who continues his fine start to the season.

This seemed to kick-start the home team into life and a
combination of cards and some sloppy defending allowed Cheltenham to score
three times in five minutes to leave a shell-shocked Cardiff & Met trailing
4-3 with twenty minutes remaining.

The Welsh side showed admirable composure for a young squad
as they calmly tried to work back into the game, and were rewarded for their
efforts when Jack Pritchard deflected home a Luke Hawker pass to make the score
4-4.

Cardiff & Met continued to create chances and following some
fine defensive pressure from Ioan Wall, Pritchard fired home a reverse-stick
winner with ten minutes left to make it 5-4 and secure Cardiff & Met’s 4th
win of the season.

They now sit just two points behind table-toppers Exeter University
with four matches remaining before the winter break.

Next Up// Cardiff
& Met host Isca on Sunday 5th November (12.30 push-back) @ The National
Hockey Centre, WIS.

Jacob Draper
will follow in the footsteps of previous Cardiff & Met and Wales Senior player
Liam Brignull in gaining selection for Great Britain U21. Alongside Wales
Senior team mate and ex-Cardiff & Met player Ben Francis, Jacob will attend
the Sultan of Johor Cup, Malaysia, from 22nd to the 29th
October 2017.

The
announcement follows a rigorous trial process as Cardiff & Met’s No7
comments “I found the process so valuable
for my personal development, performing in an atmosphere that was tense as the
players’ did not want to put a foot wrong. I’ve always hated playing under
pressure, finding it difficult to perform to my best, but as I completed each
assessment camp I gradually became accustomed to it, subsequently I feel that
side of my game as improved.”

There
is no doubt the trial process played an important part in Jacob’s influential
performances for Cardiff & Met HC during early season National League and
EuroHockey League fixtures. The combination of domestic league fixtures, Hockey
Wales Senior Men’s program and GB U21 representation will no doubt place
substantial demands on Jacob, however his sights are set on the next step. “Selection for the Elite Development Program
is released on the 1st November so hopefully I’m in that. This will
entail training several days a month, so with university commitments I’m going
to have to be super organised and committed to both Hockey and academia. Selection
for the U21’s is a huge honour and something that has been a goal of mine for
so long, being able to pull on the GB 21’s shirt will be an overwhelming
feeling. I am massively grateful of my current and previous clubs support,
without their assistance my achievement would not be possible. A massive thank
you to everyone associated.”

Cardiff &
Met HC wish Jacob the very best of luck in the Sultan of Johor Cup, keeping a
close eye on results, where they will aim to better their 4th place
finish of 2016.

The continued growth of the Cardiff & Met HC Junior section is perhaps typified by the addition of boys friendly games for U13 & U15 in preparation for league entry next season. In the first of the U13 boys friendlies, Cardiff & Met HC welcome Whitchurch.

Lead Coach Reuben Elliot comments:

With the boys first game of this new season
against a strong Whitchurch side, the boys came ready and prepared. A side that
had a few new faces looked eager for the challenge ahead. With the first
quarter getting underway, Seb, on his debut making some brilliant runs into
their D and challenging their goalkeeper with a brilliant shot, however the
strength of Whitchurch showed as they scored 3 quick goal in the first quarter.
With our stand in goalkeeper Iestyn making some amazing saves in the second
quarter the defence looked solid with Joe making some brilliant tackles and
attacking runs into Whitchurch’s D, however we could not manage to get on the
score sheet. We looked dangerous in attack with Pablo and Harry moving the ball
around brilliantly.

During the half time team talk we decided to change positions
around and the boys still smiling and keen to change the score line in the
second half. We started off with what seemed to be a new burst of energy before
some brilliant play from Harry led to a chance for Joe to slot in our first
goal of the game. With the boys looking more confident going forward some
amazing last ditch tackles by Macsen matched by some brilliant saves by Iestyn,
we couldn’t keep Whitchurch out and they scored a well worked goal to make the
score 6-1. The boys still looked positive and with Joe on scoring form just
before the end of the 3rd quarter, as Joe smashed home a powerful shot from the
top of the D. The score being 6-2 to Whitchurch overall, 2-1 to Cardiff in
the second half.

The boys had been working hard so were tired by the time
the 4th quarter had finished as we had no substitutes and Whitchurch being a
strong side had 12. The boys did not give up and fought strong until the end as
the Whitchurch team worked well and passed the ball brilliantly scoring another
3 goals in the last quarter. The boys fought to the end and Gethin scored us a
late goal to give the boys a boost for the last few minutes of the game.

A big
thank you to all the parents who came to support and all the boys for their
efforts, brilliant start to a season that I am looking forward to as coach.

Man of the Match: Joe Dunscombe

Coach: Reuben Elliot

Tournament Report:

On a wet and grey Sunday morning, the U13 girls arrived
eager to play, but unsure of what to expect. After some necessary introductions
of new players, the girls got stuck into their first game against a strong
Gwent B side. A promising start showed the girls only 1-0 down at half time but
even with some exceptional saves from goal keeper Olivia Thomas, Gwent managed
to creep away with a 5-0 win. With fire in their bellies the Cardiff girls jumped
straight into their next game against Radyr. The girls settled into the game
well and were soon playing some excellent hockey by moving the ball round
quickly putting Radyr’s defence under pressure for the majority of the game. However,
a last-minute counter attack from Radyr resulted in a 1-0 loss for Cardiff.

Due to injury the Cardiff girls found themselves one
valuable defender short from the starting squad, but with motivation at a high
the girls set out against the Gwent C team. Gwent put out another strong side
who were clinical in front of goal and once again Cardiff GK Olivia was put
through her paces. Cardiff finally got the glory goal they well deserved from
Cadi Karroumi finishing the game 4-1. In the final game against Whitchurch D
the girls remained in high spirits and showed great determination by applying
pressure and making excellent tackles at critical moments however the morning
drew to a close with another loss.

Credit must be given to the whole team for the positive
attitude kept throughout the morning. Although the results don’t reflect the
girls played some outstanding hockey and were incredibly unlucky to not have
more success within the attack D.

Coach: Rosie Hunter & Rob Yard.

Many Cardiff & Met U9 players pick up their stick for the first time @ Brecon.

On Sunday the 1st of October, a squad of six Cardiff &
Met U9’s made the trip to Brecon to contest their opening tournament of the
season. For many of the young players, this was their first ever hockey
tournament.

After a nervous start in the opening game, the team found
themselves 2-0 down to Gwent at half time. Despite this shaky start, the
juniors came out fighting in the second half. A terrific goalkeeping display
from Tom Gow and a hat-trick for Alex Pearn ensured that Cardiff came back to
win the game 3-2.

Following the dramatic start to the day, the juniors faced
two tough opponents in Swansea and Whitchurch. After conceding early on against
Swansea, quality defensive performances
from Jac Campbell and Eva Burt kept Cardiff in the game; but the juniors
struggled in front of goal and the game finished 0-1. Following this, the
firepower of Whitchurch proved too much for the Cardiff & Met juniors on
the day. Despite some strong work in midfield from Helen Padbury, the game
ended in a 0-5 defeat.

In the final game of the day against Cwmtawe, the U9’s were
determined to finish on a high. Susie Burt’s attacking work rate gave the
Cwmtawe defence trouble all game and a brace from Alex Pearn sealed the 2-0
victory for Cardiff.

Overall it was a great start to the season for the U9’s.
They played some fantastic hockey and attitudes remained positive throughout
the day, which bodes well for future fixtures.

Coach: Oli Lum & Abi Griffiths

Tournament Report – Cardiff & Met U11 @ Hawthorn High School.

Turning up to Hawthorn High School at 9:30am on a Sunday
morning to see half of the team waiting to start playing hockey is a sight not
many see. Keen and enthusiastic is what came to mind. The girls started the
tournament very well with a 3-1 win over Brecon. The crowd went wild after
every goal was scored and the celebrations were awesome after gaining the 1st
win of the season.

Two tough games followed as Cardiff and Met Under 11 Girls came
up against Gwent A + B. A strong outfit of players from Gwent were just too
strong for the Cardiff girls, however, there were signs of improvement as
Cardiff got a goal back but the comeback was too late and the final whistle was
blown. Next up, Rhondda. Cardiff started brightly moving the ball around nicely
until a quick counter attack ended up in a goal for Rhondda. The 2nd
half was the same as the first, with Rhondda knocking on the door of the
Cardiff and Met goal, but some fine shot stopping keep them in the game. A last-minute
counter attack from Cardiff and Met saw them score just before the whistle went
for full time. Delight from the Cardiff and Met coach meant high 5’s all round
for an incredible performance from the girls.

The final game was against Llan
and Llan. Cardiff and Met started brightly with an early goal, and kept on
applying pressure as shots were being loaded onto the opposition goalkeeper
thick and fast. The Llan and Llan goalkeeper made some wonderful saves to keep
them in the game but eventually Cardiff and Met scored again. One more goal in
the second half saw Cardiff and Met U11 Girls win their last game 3-0. Great
first tournament of the season. Lots of goals, lots of happy faces and a lot of
tired legs.

Coach: Steven Foy.

Junior Hockey is back!

Our hockey academy is open to children of all abilities.

Based at one of the best hockey facilities in the UK, we offer a chance for children to develop their hockey skills and tactics within a fun learning environment.

We enter teams into the South Wales Youth Hockey programme from Under 9s to Under 18s and play regular festivals and fixtures throughout the season.

Call 02920 416777 for more information, to book or visit the Website